Living in the Present Age

This story is also known as I Flunked My Senior Year Online Exams and Transmigrated or I Studied Like Crazy After Returning to Republican-Era China and Finally Got into the Southwest Associated University

Blurb:

I once traced China's borders through piles of exam-prep books, touching the pulse of the times with the tip of my pen. Later, I became a fugitive in time, walking across those same vast rivers and mountains.

It was the Pearl River Delta in 2020, and the city of Tianjin in 1936. Before my eyes stretched the sky of an old era. The Tanggu docks were still bustling, while the lands beyond the Great Wall had already fallen into enemy hands. The newspapers carried the impassioned cries of students; the streets were filled with the hopeless eyes of refugees. The tide of history came rolling toward me, ready to swallow me up, but there was nowhere to run.

My beloved, whose name I never spoke aloud, are you waiting for me on the other side of the river of history?

The layers of memories from different eras eventually blurred into indistinct shapes in the smoke of war.

Farewell songs carried us far apart, and youth was stained with blood. Lost in the old era, I became one of those who came before, instead of one who came after.

Even as we drift through the sea of history, trapped in the predicament history has enclosed around us, we must not lose the courage to look toward the future. The times are not an unbreakable knot. I am willing to walk with you, overcome the hardships of the past, and welcome the sun of the new century.

*Note: Set in the Republican era. The author has made an effort to research the history, and will list references in the author's notes. This is not a sweet romance or a feel-good power fantasy. There are no perfect characters, and all the main characters are still growing. The journey is full of hardships, but the author will strive to give everyone a satisfying ending while staying true to historical logic.

*Content warning: Readers who enjoy sweet romances and feel-good power fantasies, or who have many sensitive topics, should proceed with caution. Writing is no easy task, so this story is written for those who understand. Opinions on its content may differ. I sincerely hope everyone finds stories that suit their tastes.

Theme: Amid the rise and fall of history, love knows no bounds.